Coaches' Articles

Do you have a friend or family member who wants to join but is too scared?

If I had a penny for the number of times a client has gotten my hopes up by saying, “I have a friend who wants to join,” (yet that friend, or sister or husband never ends up showing up) I would be a rich coach.

I talk to people outside of the gym world all the time. Some of the most common reason folks don’t start improving they’re fitness is because they’re “intimidated” or aren’t “in good enough shape.

I have also learned in 9 years of coaching that the hardest part for many people about joining a gym is just walking through those doors on their very first day. The fear and apprehension of the unknown can be crippling.

So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m about to reveal exactly what the process will look like from the moment you contact our website and the end of your Day 1 one-on-one introductory session with a coach. Here goes:

After you contact our website, or call us, we’ll get back to you within 24 hours and you will be paired up with a coach. You’ll likely have a back-and-forth e-mail with this coach, or better yet, a phone call. You’ll compare your schedules and will settle on a day and time for your intro day.

Then, you will walk, drive, bus to the gym and damnit, you will walk through the doors.

You will be greeted by your coach. At some point you’ll probably sign a waiver, but more than anything you will talk. That’s it—talk!

You won’t be weighed and measured (unless you want to be), and you won’t be thrown into the fire of a group class workout with experienced athletes.

What will you talk about?

To a large degree, this will be up to you. But the end goal is simple: To see if you’re a right fit to train with us.

To do this, we will ask you about your wants and needs, and what brought you into the gym. The only thing we ask for is honesty on your part. If we’re going to help you, it will help if you let your guard down and be a bit vulnerable (that might be the scariest part of the whole day for you).

Why are you really here today? What do you really want to get out of this? (We don’t want the PC answer; we want the REAL answer).

The reason we do our intro days in a one-on-one setting with one coach and one client is to allow the two of you to get to know each other and truly discover if you will work well together. Discovering this in a group setting with 8 to 10 new athletes all sweating together chaotically is next to impossible—and is what sets us apart from many other gyms in the area.

If at the end of your conversation—be it a 20-minute, 45-minute or hour-long chat (some people are chattier than others)—if you want (and if time permits), you will be put through a short fitness assessment—just some basic pushing, pulling and squatting. Or if you prefer, the fitness assessment can be done during your second session.

The assessment will give your coach a chance to see where you’re at physically, and will help him/her decide approximately how many personal training sessions you will need before you’ll be able to graduate to group classes (This decision will be made together based on your wants and needs).

Then if you’re game, you’ll book session number two and then the real fun begins…

That’s it. That’s as scary as walking through the doors is going to be.

If you have a friend or family member who has been considering joining, but is terrified to take the leap, don’t hesitate to forward this to them if you think it might give them the nudge they need to get fit.

All too often, I see athletes push themselves day in and day out and watch their nutrition meticulously, only to come across the nagging injury or sideliner. I believe this issue can be conquered a majority of the time, but it requires a look within…

Each week. Every workout. Each movement. Every rep. Even every ….breath. We are presented with hundreds or thousands of opportunities to improve and make strides towards our goals. We can also misuse these hundreds or thousands of opportunities, working closer to the next plateau and/or injury. Be it a chronic, nagging injury, or something more serious, it’s a good bet that you can reduce your chances by practicing this principle.

Virtuosity

*vir-tu-os-i-ty

great technical skill, or captivating personal style, ESPECIALLY as exhibited in the arts

For the coach and athlete alike, the science is in the explanation. One teaches or explains, while the other (hopefully) works to truly understand. As for the art, the perceptions may differ here.

While the art of coaching maybe up for debate, I doubt you will find many that will debate the inclusion of proper program design and relaying of information. As for the athlete, the art should include a mastery of movement. I believe your approach as an athlete, your paradigm, can have just as much effect on your goals as your genetic potential. So even if you are physically gifted, an improper approach or misguided paradigm may limit your potential.

The paradigm I’m speaking of here that can get us in trouble is, “if X,Y,Z is good…then a lot more of X,Y,Z will get me to my goals,” While the drive and determination can be appreciated and respected, not knowing when to dial it back and listen to your body can set you back. If we pound away for quantity, at the expense of quality, we are in trouble. Even if your movement is impeccable, more grinding isn’t always the answer.

I recently attended a sports performance conference with many wonderful presenters. One of whom, Dr. Bob Rakowski, broke down nutrition and energy systems in impressive and effective way. A big take home from this particular presentation, “It takes twice as much energy to recover than it does to do the work”. Stop reading for a second and chew on the previous statement.

More grinding isn’t always the answer. Movement is not the only part of the puzzle where virtuosity should be applied. We need to be as proactive and purposeful in our recovery as we are with our training. Think about the time it takes for the demolition of a building compared to the time it takes to rebuild.

As a coach, the body can be a new canvas to perform his or her artistry. Are you working with a pretentious artisan, who is constantly trying to perfect his or her craft? Or are you working with a cheap home builder, pushing out cookie-cutter homes that unfortunately start to show problems all too early?

“Who’s Your Daddy?” There is nothing wrong with a little competition! We’re partnering with Paramount Pictures again in anticipation of their new film Daddy’s Home.

DADDY’S HOME follows a mild-mannered radio executive (Will Ferrell) who strives to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling and freeloading father (Mark Wahlberg) arrives, forcing him to compete for the affection of the kids.

While you won’t be competing for our affection, you will be competing for the chance to win a prize pack full of awesome gear.

How it works:Everyone that comes to class Thursday (12/10) will be entered into the drawing for the prize packs. The MALE & FEMALE with the best scores of the day will have 5 additional entries into the drawing! On Friday morning we’ll add the top male and female’s additional entries and do the final drawing. Make sure you get your name in the box when you come to class!

Are you a champion? Show us your stuff!On Friday November 20th we’re going to be holding an in house event we’re calling “Night of Champions”.
This “battle for the championship” will consist of two separate “Ladders” in the Push Press and Clean (power or squat).

This is just a fun way to get the community together and lift some heavy weights!
All of the proceed will go to a gym “Christmas present” i.e. new piece of equipment we’ll let everyone vote on after the event is complete.

$20 Entry Fee – All of the proceed will go to a gym “Christmas present”
i.e. new piece of equipment we’ll let everyone vote on after the event is complete.

*This is a “ladder” style workout each person will have 1:00 minute at each station men and women will lift at the same time. If the athlete(s) cannot complete the weight on the bar in minute they exit the ladder. If the athlete clears the ladder they can try to complete as many clean as possible on the last bar.

The Push Press will be performed from the rack. The bar must move from the shoulder to overhead in one continuous motion. The knee and hips cannot rebend to get back under the bar.

8 Bar Ladder

Rx135, 115165, 125185, 135205, 155225, 165245, 180265, 190285, 200

Scaled95, 55115, 65135, 75155, 85165, 95185, 105195, 115205, 125

*This is a “ladder” style workout each person will have 1:00 minute at each station men and women will lift at the same time. If the athlete(s) cannot complete the weight on the bar in minute they exit the ladder. If the athlete clears the ladder they can try to complete as many push presses as possible on the last bar.

It is so exciting for us to see so many of our folks getting out into the community to compete! We had a handful of folks get out and compete in October we couldn’t be more proud. Great job on all your accomplishments CFA! Keep up the great work!

SuperFit Games Austin

We had a whole list of folks join in for Team SuperFit on October 10th. We had multiple teams with podium finishes and so many PRs! Congrats on all your hard work guys!

Tim Garland & Austin Coover took 3rd in the Mens RX division
Leigh LeGare & Stacey Magnesio took 1st and Kim (Scott) Peabody & Jenni Demske took 2nd in the Womens RX division
New member Robyn Schoen and her partner from her old gym back home took 3rd in the Male/Female RX division

Jose Gonzalez competed with previous member Ed Robinson in the Mens Novice division

Josh Harris and Cody Watkins competed in the Mens Rx Division

Also, a special thank you to all of our awesome volunteers! We COULD NOT have done this without you!!

Check out all the photos from the competition on the SuperFit Facebook pageor from our own photographer, Dan Morice’s, Flickr page!

Austin Weightlifting also made some serious waves at the Iron Cat Meet down at Texas State!

Matt Cecilo – 65kg Snatch 89kg Clean & Jerk with a Total=154kg He was 5/6 on his first meet!

Vy Mai – 1st place with a 42kg Snatch and 58kg Clean in the 53kg weight class.

Contact info@crossfitaustin.com with your competition details!

Are you fit enough for the Zombie Apocalypse? Better get in gear and start training! Every time you come to class between Wednesday, October 14 and Friday, October 23rd you can enter to win a Scouts vs. Zombies movie prize pack from Paramount!

The more you train, the more chances to win!

The pack will include:

2 tickets to the advanced screening of the film on October 28th1 Camping Chair1 Backpack1 Head Lamp1 Movie Poster

Stop by the front office and drop an entry form in the box each time you come to the gym! We’ll do the final drawing on Friday, October 23rd so don’t forget to enter!

Tomorrow is a big day for several of our folks! We have members competing in the SuperFit Games hosted here at CrossFit Austin and we also have some folks heading down to Texas State for the Ironcat Open. We want to wish all of these folks good luck tomorrow as they head out to show what their made of!

Looking for a fun team workout this weekend? New to CrossFit and curious to see what it’s all about? Whether you’re a seasoned CrossFit or just dipping your toes in the water, our Community Workouts are a great way to get moving and have some fun.

Join us this Saturday, September 12th at 10:00 am!

Ahhhh yesss it’s that time of the year. Summer is starting to slowly fade into our memories and the thought of fall is creeping into our minds. Football, cooler weather, turning leaves, and a new 10 week training cycle at CFA. Before we jump right into what to expect in the coming cycle, I’d like to take a peek back at our summer cycle and the changes and improvements we’ve made.

We started the summer with a new format to the competitor training program. Gone are the days of two totally separate programs, and in its place is one fully integrated program for both those that want to compete in the sport of fitness, and those that are here to compete at the game of life. As we mentioned back in July, the competitor programming is being adapted from our good friends CrossFit Invictus, and elements of the Invictus program have seen their way into our normal group programming as well. Organizing things in this way allows our competitive athletes and coaches to be a bigger part of the overall CFA community. It’s also given folks who previously were intimidated by “The Competitors” courage to challenge themselves in new ways, while empowering our competitive athletes to once again be leaders in the gym and positive examples to all.

That said I’d like to thank everyone in the community for supporting and embracing the changes we made this summer, as well as CJ and the Invictus team for allowing us to dip into their vast base of knowledge. I’ve never in my career had so many gym members comment to me about how strong and united our community is, and nothing makes me prouder.

Now that we’ve looked back, what’s on the horizon?

Once again a quick review on how we run our training cycles:

Week 1: Test Week

Week 2-7: Training Block (3 week base + 3 week peak)

Week 8: Retest Week

Weeks 9 & 10: Transition weeks

The training block breaks out into two phases, a 3 week Base Phase followed by a 3 week Peak Phase which.

We’ll play around with some of the SuperFit Team Workouts on Saturdays

I’ll break down the peak phase once we get a bit closer in about 3 weeks.

Final news and notes:

Throughout this 6 week training block we’ll also a be holding an Olympic Weightlifting 101 clinic on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Anyone who is in their first 6 months of training, or if you just struggle with the snatch and clean and jerk this is an incredibly helpful course and will only add to your progress in the gym. We’ll teach you the positions that are absolutely critical for success in the lifts, and work on your movement, mobility, and coordination to improve those position. Get more info here.Thats it for now folks! As always feel free to hit me up at wes@crossfitaustin.com with additional questions!

ABOUT US

At CrossFit Austin you’re more than a client you’re part of our fitness family.We pride ourselves on the incredible results, experience, and relationships we have with all of our athletes regardless of ability level. We care about, and celebrate all of our athletes accomplishment inside and outside the gym!